Wellington hold on for draw

Canterbury lead second-placed Central Districts by three points in the National Under-19 Tournament being held at the New Zealand High Performance Centre in Lincoln.

Third round action saw all six teams play in their second Two Day match of the tournament, which in the end spanned over three days due to inclement weather forcing yesterday to be abandoned.

Otago claimed an outright victory over Northern Districts, while Canterbury proved too good for Central Districts. The match between Wellington and Auckland resulted in a draw overall, but it was Auckland who claimed first-innings points.

Number eight batsmen Connor Ridge scored an unbeaten 94 to lead Auckland to a more than respectable 323 all out in the first-innings. Four-wicket bags from both Kyle Jamieson and Ganesh Ratnasabapathy then limited Wellington’s response to 71 all out, allowing Auckland to enforce the follow on.

They then pushed for the victory, but were unable to make the same inroads against the Wellington line-up in the second innings. Henry Walsh top-scored with 66 to get Wellington through to 156 for four and ensure Auckland came up short.

Otago on the other hand had no such problems closing out the match, benefiting from Michael Rae’s five wicket-bag in the opening innings to dismiss Northern for 66. Otago then made 251 in their reply to claim a healthy lead.

Northern fought their way to 247 in their next attempt with the bat, but it left Otago chasing just 63 to win. They did it with ease, with Rhys Bayly leading the way with an unbeaten 25 to secure a five wicket victory.

The other match between Canterbury and Central Districts was the pick of the games to date though, with the former claiming a narrow 27 run triumph. Central required 225 to win in the final innings, but a sensational five wicket-bag from Hamish Robertson saw them come up just short, all out for 197.

Earlier, Canterbury had recorded totals of 194 and 129, while Central had fallen behind with a first-innings total of 99. They came close to making up the deficit, but lost wickets quickly and cheaply towards the end of their innings.